Audience (head of state)

An audience is a formal meeting that takes place between a head of state and another person at the invitation of the head of state. Often, the invitation follows a request for a meeting from the other person. Though sometimes used in republics to describe meetings with presidents, the term is more usually associated with monarchs and popes.

In the past, rigid dress codes had to be followed by those granted a papal audience. Although no longer mandatory, the traditional dress code was quite strict. For a general audience, smart business professional attire (i.e,. a suit and tie or equivalent for ladies) was acceptable. The suit was to be dark, and ladies would ideally not wear slacks anywhere in the Vatican. Private audiences, however, were a much more formal affair. Ladies were to wear a long (well below the knees), black dress, with a matching hat or other head covering and veil. Exceptions were made for Catholic queens and queens consort who by dispensation could wear white (privilège du blanc). Gentlemen were to wear a correct morning suit, either black or very dark gray with the traditional striped trousers, patent leather shoes, and cutaway. An ascot or equivalent formal tie would be worn with a gray waistcoat over a white dress shirt with arrow collars. If any part of the audience was to occur outdoors a black top hat would be worn. If the function was entirely indoors then the hat was optional for men. Both gentlemen and ladies were to wear dress gloves. Evening functions were usually white tie.

Formal dress is now normally reserved for diplomatic audiences. In the 1990s, a Roman Catholic priest in Ireland provoked a controversy by claiming that then-President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, had breached protocol by wearing jewellery and by not wearing black nor a mantilla for an audience with Pope John Paul II. The Vatican subsequently pointed out that the traditional form of dress worn for papal audiences was no longer obligatory.

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